


Haunted House

by RensSaxophone



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:55:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23431276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RensSaxophone/pseuds/RensSaxophone
Summary: It's a dark fic, there's blood/violence
Relationships: Ichinose Tokiya/Kurosaki Ranmaru
Kudos: 8





	Haunted House

“Really? A haunted house in _April_?” Ranmaru raises an eyebrow, 

“There are year round haunted houses. And Otoya seems like he really wants to go.” 

“And why are you askin’ _me_ ‘t join you?”

“Because I’d like to go with the group, and while they may be my friends- clinging to _you_ sounds much more appealing.”

Ranmaru clicks his tongue at Tokiya, but Tokiya had known from the start that Ranmaru was going to give into him. 

“Besides-” Tokiya continues. He presses himself closer to Ranmaru, and Ranmaru wraps his arms around Tokiya’s waist. “You know how nervous haunted houses make me.”

“Then why not just stay in?” Ranmaru’s voice drops, and he leans in, nipping at the edge of Tokiya’s jaw. “‘M sure we could stay busy doin’ something else.”

Tokiya hums, but he sounds amused. “Ah- I’m afraid you have to earn _that_. Maybe if I’ve got my strong, handsome boyfriend protecting me tonight, I’ll find _some way_ to reward him.”

Ranmaru’s groan is playful, and his sigh is teasing, too. “Y’know I can’t say no ‘t you when you start talkin’ like that.”

“I know. You’re weak for me.” Tokiya grins, and Ranmaru snorts, shaking his head. Tokiya is still wrapped firmly in his embrace. 

“Don’t go gettin’ over cocky now.”

“But am I _wrong?_ ” 

Ranmaru clicks his tongue again and changes the topic. “So who all’s goin’?”

“Out of our group, only Otoya, Haruka and Reiji. One of Reiji’s friends, Oki, insisted that Reiji come, and Reiji asked Otoya and subsequently me. I know that there’s another girl, Rin. Back in my Hayato days, she was one of my higher up agents.”

“Are y’gonna be alright with that?” Ranmaru’s voice is cautious, but Tokiya nods. 

“I’m not sure how many people there are going to be, but there should be enough in the group that I doubt it will be a problem. I’ll admit, though, that through word of mouth it sounded like she wanted them, Reiji and Otoya, to invite me. ...Admittedly, that’s also a reason I’m inviting you.”

Ranmaru makes a noise, and it takes a moment for him to speak again. “So. What time is this thing, anyways?”

“In a few hours.” Tokiya sighs. “Reiji is supposedly picking us up.”

Ranmaru makes another noise, in line with Tokiya’s sigh, and Tokiya can’t help but make an amused noise of his own. 

“But until then.” Tokiya presses closer to Ranmaru, pressing a kiss to the side of Ranmaru’s neck, smirking. “We’ve got more than enough time for a preview of later tonight, don’t you think?”

“Well you sure changed stories quick.” Ranmaru’s voice has taken on the same edge it had earlier, his hands moving lower, just under the waistband of Tokiya’s jeans. 

Tokiya hums. “Are you complaining?”

“Fuck no I’m not.” It’s Ranmaru’s turn to grin this time, changing their positions to press Tokiya against the wall. 

A few hours pass too quickly, but when Reiji calls Tokiya, to let them know that he’s outside, Tokiya tells him that they’re coming out, and reluctantly gets himself together. His eyebrows would furrow, and he’d press a kiss to Ranmaru’s jaw. “I _would_ appreciate you coming with me, for nothing more than your company and moral support- but you don’t have to go if you don’t want to, Ran.”

“I won’t go if you don’t.” Ranmaru doesn’t stop fixing himself up, clearly already knowing Tokiya’s answer. “I don’t really trust haunted houses, anyways. I’d rather be there if you’re goin’ through one.”

“You know-” Tokiya’s voice is almost musing. “I’ve been reading up on a type of haunted house, called an _extreme haunted house_.”

Ranmaru’s eyes narrow. Warning Tokiya to be careful about where he goes from here. 

“Don’t give me that look, Ran. I have no interest on being beat inside of one. I was just bringing it up to try to reassure you. It’s going to be fine- we _could_ be going to one of those.”

“Except we wouldn’t.” Ranmaru says flatly. “Don’t go gettin’ any ideas. I’ll let ya go through a haunted house, but I’d put my foot down real fuckin’ quick if y’tried to sign up for anything like that.”

“I already know why.” Tokiya moves towards Ranmaru, wrapping his arms around Ranmaru’s neck. His smile is teasing, but there’s a softness to it. “But humor me and tell me why you wouldn’t let me. Sometimes I like to make you tell me how much you worry about me.” Tokiya leans in, to press his lips softly to Ranmaru’s for a short second before he’d pull back.

Ranmaru clicks his tongue, his hands moving to Tokiya’s waist. “I’d never let you go because I don’t want you gettin’ hurt or disrespected, and if I went with ya, I’d end up gettin’ us kicked out because like hell I’d let them put their hands on you.” Ranmaru’s hold is protective. “If I wouldn’t let someone grab ya on the street, I’m not lettin’ you pay money to let people do a lot worse. But it’s funny-” Ranmaru’s eyebrow raises. “How ya only wanna hear how I worry about you, _unless_ you’re doin’ something that I need to worry about.” 

Tokiya lets his head fall onto Ranmaru’s shoulder. “I like being problematic. I thought we’ve come to this understanding already.”

Ranmaru would snort. “Fuckin’ tell me about it. You’re lucky you’re cute.”

“Is that why you keep me around?” Tokiya teases. He’d then let out an overly dramatic sigh. “We’ve probably left Reiji waiting long enough.”

“I kinda forgot he was out there. You’re real fuckin’ distracting.”

Tokiya lets out a light laugh, shaking his head and extracting himself from Ranmaru. Reiji is waiting in the car, Haruka in the front seat and Otoya in the back. Tokiya sits in the middle, to let Ranmaru sit on the edge. 

“Sorry for the wait.” Tokiya bows his head. He likely wouldn’t have apologized- but it wasn’t just Reiji. Luckily, Otoya and Haruka didn’t seem to be bothered. 

“That’s alright!” Otoya answers for Reiji, smiling brightly. “We weren’t here too long.” Otoya seems excited, and Reiji seems _really_ excited. Haruka just seems nervous, which is what Tokiya imagines that he’s giving off, too. Ranmaru seems indifferent. 

“Let’s go!” Reiji exclaims, starting the car. Ranmaru clicks his tongue.

The location is only twenty minutes away from Tokiya and Ranmaru’s apartment, and it’s based in an old, abandoned house. There are already six people in front of the house, and it makes Tokiya frown. “That’s an awfully large group, isn’t it?”

“The more the merrier, eh?” Reiji smiles into the back seat, but Ranmaru seems to share Tokiya’s opinion. Otoya seems to be on Reiji’s side. 

“It’ll be alright!” Otoya grins. It’s a cute, childlike expression. “It will still be fun!” 

Tokiya shakes his head, but it’s a fond gesture. When they climb out of the car, Tokiya takes Ranmaru’s hand. 

“‘M gettin’ a weird feeling.” Ranmaru mutters next to Tokiya’s ear. Tokiya furrows his eyebrows, looking at Ranmaru, but Ranmaru does seem a bit nervous. When Tokiya opens his mouth, Ranmaru cuts him off. “Don’t waste your breath in tryin’ ‘t suggest I don’t go in with you, either. The only thing this changes is that you’re _really_ not leavin’ my side.”

Tokiya sighs, but he does press himself closer to Ranmaru. Ranmaru lets go of Tokiya’s hand, moving it to rest on his waist, instead. 

“Let’s all introduce ourselves, and get in!” Reiji smiles, taking his place next to another boy in the group. “I’m Reiji!”

The boy next to Reiji speaks up. Tokiya can feel Ranmaru tense, just a bit, next to him- and Tokiya thinks he knows why. He doesn’t say much, but Tokiya can almost sense just a bit of _bitterness_ coming from him that he doesn’t understand. “Oki.”

It would proceed down the circle. There are two girls to the left of Oki, and Tokiya recognizes one of them. She seems to be watching him. “I’m Rin.” She smiles, but her eyes don’t leave Tokiya. Ranmaru squeezes his side. 

The next girl is quieter. “I’m Yuka.”

“Hi! I’m Otoya.” Otoya smiles, giving a wave. 

“Ranmaru.” It’s a grunt, at best. 

“Tokiya.” His voice is quiet.

Haruka bows her head in her introduction. “Haruka.”

The man next to Tokiya seems to be a bit nervous, too, but he’d raise his hand, just barely. “Shuji.”

The next two men seem to be twins. Luckily, they’re dressed entirely differently. 

The one wearing a baseball tee and cap nods. “I’m Hotaka.”

The one in a short sleeved shirt and shorts raises his hand. “Kasumi.”

“Now that we’ve all met… let’s go in.” Oki speaks, looking at the group. “Remember. No touching the actors, follow the glowing line on the floor and don’t mess with the props.”

It was normal haunted house stuff. Tokiya grabs onto Ranmaru’s shirt, to hold himself closer. They had started at the back of the group, but they’d wind up in the middle, a few of the others taking the end. It didn’t set Ranmaru at ease. 

For the first bit, it’s normal. A few popups here, a few noises there. It was a well put together house- and Tokiya gets a bit in before he ends up hiding his face in Ranmaru’s shoulder. Tokiya enjoyed horror movies and books, but the layer of safety helped. Tokiya often had to sleep with the lights on after watching certain movies- he wasn’t exactly the best at handling things like haunted houses. 

Ranmaru just wraps his arm around Tokiya’s shoulders to help lead him. Ranmaru doesn’t seem to be affected by the house, but Tokiya also wonders if it’s in reaction to Tokiya handling it significantly worse. 

Otoya was noisier, and so were the girls. And then, one girl would let out an ear piercing scream that makes even Ranmaru jump, and when he looks back, Yuka is no longer in the group. When Ranmaru really pays attention, he realizes that Reiji isn’t in the group anymore, either. Ranmaru’s eyes narrow. 

“Yuka?” Rin sounds panicked, looking around. She calls the name again, louder. “Yuka? Where did you go?”

There’s no answer. 

“W-wait! Reiji’s gone, too!” Otoya’s eyes are wide with fear, looking around, starting to panic as well. 

“Maybe they snuck up ahead.” Oki suggests. “Let’s keep going.”

Ranmaru’s glare turns to Oki, but with both of them having just disappeared, there isn’t a better idea. Other than leaving- which Ranmaru is extremely tempted to. There’s something not right going on here. But even Ranmaru wouldn’t leave Reiji. And, besides, Reiji was his ride, too.

Tokiya has looked up, to aid in the search, but his grip on Ranmaru is tight. He seems to struggle, trying to ignore all of the scares still happening, but he does. And then, nearly two rooms later, they find themselves in a room, separated by a cage. Yuka is tied to a chair, behind the cage, and she seems to be unconscious. Rin moves to the cage, her fingers curling in the metal, and she starts calling Yuka’s name. 

“Look- there’s some sort of latch. Maybe we can open it.” Oki points out, his hand on Rin’s shoulder. He brings her attention downwards, toward what seems to be a chain. “I can try to hold it up and you can try to reach under.”

Rin nods, dropping to her knees. Oki tries to hold up the gate as Rin reaches underneath, but just before she manages to get a hold of the chain, a figure, previously hidden in the corner, steps forward, bringing his foot down on her hand. As she pulls it back, she lets out a choked, pained screech. Otoya is actually the first one to her as she holds her hand back. Tokiya can see the panicked tears in Otoya’s eyes, but she holds her hand to her chest, curling in on herself. 

Tokiya’s eyes focus on the figure, holding a large fire poker. It moves, to hold the end of it to Yuka’s throat, before turning and pulling curtains, hiding the half of the room behind the gate. Only a second later there is an ear splitting scream and disgusting, wet noises as the scream cuts off abruptly, turning into gurgling noises. Rin breaks into sobs. Everyone is still for a long moment, the only noise now being Rin and her cries. 

And then, Otoya’s face sobers, before changing into a terrified expression. He moves, away from Rin, and towards Ranmaru, Haruka and Tokiya. Haruka looks petrified. Tokiya is focused on the curtain. Even Ranmaru seems to be in shock. “W-we need to find Reiji.” Otoya’s voice trembles. “We have to find him, and leave and get help.”

“Maybe we should go half ‘n half.” Ranmaru grunts. “We’ve gotta get contact with someone _right now_. ‘Specially considerin’...” 

“There’s no service.” Haruka sounds terrified, too, but she’s taken out her phone. “If we want help I think we need to get it.”

In the distraction of talking, Tokiya had managed to slip away from Ranmaru’s grip, drawn towards the gate. He feels numb, walking up to it. He’d reach forward, to try to pull some of the curtain away from the gate, to try to see into the room. 

Right as Tokiya pulls back the curtain, just enough for him to see through, he hears Ranmaru call his name- alarmed. He hears Ranmaru moving. Tokiya can’t see into the room, from the bit of the curtain he had opened, because the figure- a man in a skull mask, is in front of it. Ranmaru pulls him away from the gate just as the man tries to catch Tokiya’s hand through the fence. 

Ranmaru had reached across Tokiya’s chest to pull him back, into Ranmaru and away from the gate. Tokiya would have nearly lost his balance with the pressure, and when Ranmaru holds him, it’s tight. Tokiya wouldn’t be able to leave his grip even if he tried. The curtain falls back, hiding the figure again. 

Haruka and Otoya quickly make their way to Ranmaru and Tokiya, both of them looking like frightened children. Tokiya takes one glance at Ranmaru’s face, and he notices the same, panicked expression in Ranmaru’s eyes, though Ranmaru’s face is stern. Tokiya notices looks that he’s getting from some of the others. A wide eyed expression from Shuji, a disdained eyebrow raise from Oki. 

“Are you alright!?” Otoya is directly in front of Tokiya, and Tokiya bets that if Ranmaru weren’t still holding him that Otoya probably would have hugged him. Tokiya thinks he can see scared tears starting to form in Otoya’s eyes. There are definitely tears in Haruka’s. 

“I’m fine.” Tokiya’s voice is very quiet, and just a bit too slow, to keep it from shaking. He really had gotten a scare, but he was trying his best to hide it. “I’m fine.” Tokiya feels like he should say more- but what is there to say? Otoya and Haruka do seem to believe him, but Ranmaru clearly doesn’t. Tokiya feels Ranmaru’s grip tighten for just a second in a squeeze- almost a warning more than a reassurance. 

When Otoya and Haruka trail off to the rest of the group, to begin to discuss course of action, Ranmaru moves, to speak lowly by Tokiya’s ear. 

“What the fuck were you thinking? If you had gotten yourself hurt… he had a _weapon_.” Ranmaru’s forehead presses to the back of Tokiya’s head. “Listen.” Ranmaru’s voice is serious. Tokiya does listen. “Through all ‘a this. You’re gonna stay by me at all times. If it comes to a confrontation, I want you behind me. No goin’ off on your own, no trailing away from me. I want you _here_ , Tokiya, and I’m not playing around.”

Tokiya nods, and he looks down, almost like a scolded child. With everything going on, Tokiya can feel tears burning his eyes. He’s scared, and guilty. He really hadn’t meant to scare Ranmaru worse. Tokiya can’t hide the tremble in his voice this time. “I’m sorry.”

Ranmaru sighs, but his grip finally turns more comforting than restraining. “I know this entire situation is a fuckin’ terrifying shit show. I just want you safe, Toki.”

“I know.” Tokiya’s voice breaks. When he tries to turn, Ranmaru lets him, and Tokiya wraps his arms tightly around Ranmaru’s waist. “I’ll be careful and stay near you, but… just… please do the same, Ran. I don’t- I don’t want anything to happen to anyone else.”

Tokiya thinks he can feel eyes on him, but he’d keep his forehead pressed to Ranmaru’s shoulder. He wasn’t sure that he wanted to know who it was. 

Finally, Tokiya would pull back, though Ranmaru would still hold him close. 

“We’re going to split in half.” Oki brings up. “Me, Rin, Hotaka and Kasumi are going to go try to get help, and the rest of you should keep trying to go forward and see if you can find Reiji.”

Tokiya looks at his group. It was his original group, which does make him feel better, and Shuji. Shuji seems quiet, but it’s clear that he’s just as shaken up as the rest of them. Ranmaru just nods. Tokiya can tell that he’d rather leave- but he knows that Ranmaru’s worried about Reiji. As much as both Ranmaru _and_ Tokiya gave Reiji shit, neither man wanted anything to happen to him. 

The groups would split off. 

Tokiya would have thought that nothing would scare him in the house, now that there was real danger- but it was the opposite. Everything that jumped out at them terrifies Tokiya, and it gets to the point of tears. Tokiya can feel an anxiety attack coming on. But Otoya and Haruka were clearly scared as well, and Tokiya was holding himself together for them. He knew that Ranmaru could see through it, but Ranmaru doesn’t call him out on it. He just squeezes Tokiya’s waist, pressing him closer. 

They don’t get much further into the house when they hear a noise- a gunshot. A moment later an out of breath, hysterical and bloody Rin bursts through the door behind them. 

It’s Otoya that steps forward immediately to try to comfort her and ask her what happened. 

Through sobs, and gasps, and breaks where she just can’t speak, they finally get the point that the front door had been locked. They were ambushed, and while she had managed to run, she didn’t know what happened to _most_ of them. She had, however, been standing next to Kasumi when he had been shot. 

“And…” Tokiya thinks that Rin looks right at him, when she holds up a leather bracelet, drenched in blood. Tokiya’s blood runs cold. If she sobs anything else out, he can’t hear it, because Tokiya recognizes the bracelet as Reiji’s. When Tokiya’s knees give out, Ranmaru almost drops him, in too much shock himself, but he manages to grab onto Tokiya just in time. 

Tokiya can’t hold in his sob, and he barely even registers Ranmaru’s touch, even though Ranmaru’s holding him so tightly that it should almost hurt. When Tokiya breaks down, Otoya tries to move to help him, but Otoya is crying too, and he seems to cry harder with Tokiya. Ranmaru has a lost expression on his face, unable to entirely keep himself together. 

“We need to get out.” Ranmaru finally says, his voice falling a bit flat. “We’ve gotta get out of here, go call for help. Can you stand, Toki?”

Tokiya tries to force himself, and he can, but his entire body is trembling. Ranmaru is still mostly holding him up. Shuji seems to be trying to help Haruka, but he seems to be in a state of shock as well. Tokiya can see him shaking. 

They all move forward, though they’re moving slower than they had been. Tokiya stays tucked tightly to Ranmaru’s side, but he hasn’t managed to stop crying. 

The panic attack he had felt coming on finally shows itself in the next room. There’s a hole in the floor, and when Rin looks down into it, she lets out a scream. Ranmaru tries to keep Tokiya back, but he manages to catch a glimpse down the hole, seeing a seemingly beat and bloodied body- and he thinks he recognizes it as one of the twins. 

“Hotaka!” Rin cries, kneeling by the floor. 

This time, when Tokiya falls, Ranmaru can’t quite catch him. Ranmaru has to kneel down with Tokiya, who is on his hands and knees, though one hand raises to his chest. 

He can’t breathe. He can feel his heart beating, pounding uncomfortably against his chest, and he feels like it’s going to burst. He feels sick, his entire body starting to shake more violently, and all he can focus on is how he _can’t breathe_. 

“Toki, babe, focus on me.” Ranmaru’s voice is by Tokiya’s ear. He’s moved, pulling Tokiya closer, trying to get him to calm down. They can’t move forward with Tokiya in this state. Tokiya feels himself moved, back to a sitting position. Ranmaru is trying his best, but there’s a tone in his voice that shows that he’s not unaffected by this situation, either, and despite how he’s clearly trying to hide it, Tokiya can tell. And with all of the others around him, it isn’t helping. 

And it _really_ doesn’t help that Tokiya is scaring Otoya and Haruka. 

The hyperventilating starts when there’s banging on the door behind them. Tokiya, out of pure panic, struggles away from Ranmaru right as the lights go out, leaving them in complete darkness. 

Tokiya realizes that he’s been separated from Ranmaru, but the situation is only making his panic attack worsen. He hears Ranmaru calling for him, his voice strained and panicked, but Tokiya can’t speak, no matter how hard he tries. 

As he stumbles back, he feels a foot grind into his hand, and when he jerks back, trying to free it, he feels his head slam into the wall. He closes his eyes, sobbing softly as he cradles his hand. He doesn’t think it’s broken, but he may have sprained his wrist, trying to pull it back. It hurts significantly more than his head. He wonders if this is it. He’s afraid for Ranmaru. 

“Stop!” The lights finally come back on, and Tokiya thinks that he’s dreaming, when he hears Reiji. As soon as the lights are back on, Tokiya can already see Ranmaru, moving towards him. Ranmaru’s crouch in front of him is protective. 

“What the fuck is going on?” Ranmaru is the first to speak, and his face is angry, though there’s a level of fear. Reiji looks horrified, looking at the situation. 

“This went too far!” Reiji looks over at Rin, who seems to have changed. Her face is still tearstained, but now, it’s angry. Annoyed. Reiji turns his head in Ranmaru’s direction, but he can’t quite meet Ranmaru’s eyes. “This was a prank.” People walk in behind Reiji. Oki. Kasuma. Yuka. 

Oki looks nearly as angry as Rin, and it seems to be at Reiji. 

Reiji hangs his head in shame. “For April Fools. I thought we were just going to scare you, and it was going to be funny… I didn’t think it would go this far. I’m sorry I didn’t stop it sooner.” Reiji’s face twists again. Tokiya hadn’t thought that Reiji _could_ look any more guilty, but he manages. “I’m really sorry Tokiya.”

Tokiya’s still pressed against the wall, tears still making their way down his face. “I want to leave.” His voice breaks, but he reaches forward with his good hand, holding onto Ranmaru’s shirt. “Please.”

Ranmaru’s fear has finally faded, replaced solely by anger. “We’re gonna.” Ranmaru helps Tokiya up, his anger growing when he sees the way that Tokiya is holding his head, and the way his wrist is pressed against his chest. “Otoya, Haruka, c’mon.” When Reiji simply hangs his head, Ranmaru pushes past him, but he speaks as he does. “Reiji, we’re going. Move your ass.”

Ranmaru leaves the house, going back through the front door. Some of the automatic scares still happen, but Ranmaru ignores them, and the entire group is too exhausted to react. Ranmaru realizes that Shuji is following the group, a bit behind them, but that Shuji is the only one leaving, the rest of the group still remaining upstairs. 

Reiji seems unsure the entire time, and Ranmaru fully plans to speak to him- but he stops first, when he’s outside, to check on Tokiya. Tokiya is still crying, but it’s much softer than it had been and his panic attack has finally passed. Ranmaru tilts his head up, watching his face. “Hospital?”

“It’s just a sprain.” Tokiya’s voice cracks. If his head wasn’t aching, he’d have shaken it. “I’ll be okay with some ice and some aspirin.”

“Just your wrist?” Ranmaru takes Tokiya’s arm gently by the forearm, trying to look at it himself. Tokiya’s wrist is swelling, and his hand is clearly going to have a nasty bruise. 

“I hit my head against the wall, but I think it’s just sore.”

Ranmaru sighs, but his worried, soft expression leaves almost as soon as he turns away from Tokiya. His glare turns to Reiji. 

“Fuckin’ talk, Kotobuki.”

“It was just supposed to be a prank!” Reiji does sound desperate, but he also sounds genuine. “We were supposed to disappear from the group and come back at the end to scare you. I had no idea that they were pretending that people were dying and I didn’t want anyone hurt! We were just supposed to scare you! It was Oki’s idea to have the haunted house, because he wanted our help to prank Shuji, and then Rin wanted me to invite Tokiya… I’m sorry. I really didn’t think it would get this far! I was waiting at the end, but none of the others went to where we were supposed to be waiting, and I couldn’t find my bracelet, so I went to go figure out what happened and I… I heard her. I should have stopped it there, and then they turned out the lights-” 

Reiji’s ramblings finally stop as he quiets. His lip quivers, and there’s a genuinely guilty, apologetic look on his face. 

“I’m sorry. And I’m really sorry to you, Tokiya. I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt, or to scare you that badly.”

Ranmaru is the one who speaks, and his voice comes out flat. “We’ll decide everythin’ later. I think we all just want to fuckin’ go home right now.”

Ranmaru notices that Shuji is already gone. Reiji hangs his head again, but he does go to the driver’s door. Haruka returns to the driver’s seat, and the last three boys arrange themselves in the backseat in the way that they had on the way there, though this time Otoya seems much more focused on Tokiya. Tokiya stays quiet, but he hasn’t let go of Ranmaru’s hand with his good one.

Reiji drops Ranmaru and Tokiya off first. Ranmaru’s only response is a grunt, and Tokiya just stays quiet. It’s quiet until they get inside, and then Ranmaru heads to the kitchen to get together an ice pack. 

“Y’should go lie down, babe. I’ll be right there.” Tokiya just nods, heading into the bedroom. 

When Ranmaru enters again, his hands are full. He has a bag full of ice, wrapped in a cloth, a bottle of aspirin, a water bottle, and a bag of frozen vegetables. He’d set down the ice and the bag, making Tokiya sit up just to take the painkillers, and then he’d settle Tokiya back down, the bag of vegetables against the back of his head, and the cloth against his wrist. 

Ranmaru lies down next to Tokiya, both of them still fully dressed, and he lays his hand on Tokiya’s stomach. 

“I’m so tired.” Tokiya mumbles. “That’s the last time I ever go to a haunted house. But I can’t help but think that it may have been partly my fault. It _was_ April first.”

“Yeah, but this wasn’t some well-meaning, shitty prank. I don’t know what the fuck this was, but it went too far.”

“Reiji-” Tokiya trails off, his voice unsure, at best.

“I don’t think he knew what he got himself into.” Ranmaru’s voice is gruff. “Guy can be an idiot, but I don’t think he’s cruel. I believed him when he apologized.”

“He’s probably still kicking himself over it. Shouldn’t you have told him you believed him?” 

“Nah. …’M not gonna hold this against him forever, but it doesn’t change that he’s still involved. You still got hurt, and terrifying your friends is still kind of a fucked up thing ‘t do. I’ll let ‘im dwell on it and I’ll talk to him next time I see him.” Ranmaru’s face turns serious. “Unless you’re not willin’ to forgive him. _You’re_ the one that got the shit end of this.”

“Otoya invited me.” Tokiya’s voice is a mumble. “Which makes me feel like Reiji was probably trying to prank Otoya. ...I know Rin. She’s always been a bit… crazy and extreme. It’s why we stopped spending time together. If I’m really going to assign blame, it’s going to be to her.” Tokiya pauses. “...So I won’t hold it to Reiji. But maybe a day or so of thinking about it would be a fair warning to not do it again in the future.”

Ranmaru snorts. “He better fuckin’ not. He gets one.”

Ranmaru shifts, his chin resting on Tokiya’s shoulder. As soon as he seems to have gotten comfortable, his phone rings, and he’d groan. “You should probably answer that.” 

“I guess.” Ranmaru sighs, turning to his back to reach for his phone. Tokiya watches him, and he notices Ranmaru’s eyebrow raise.

“What’s up?”

“Yeah. ‘Lil late.”

“It was a fuckin’ shit show. Reiji teamed up with a couple ‘a others ‘n it all went way too far.” Ranmaru’s voice turns flatter. “Tokiya got hurt. The injuries aren’t serious, but the fact that he _got_ hurt-”

Ranmaru is silent for a long minute, and then he clicks his tongue. “Yeah. Well. Thanks for tryin’ to catch us, anyways.”

“Yeah. Do that.” Ranmaru grunts. “Thanks. G’night, Ren.”

Tokiya’s eyebrow raises when Ranmaru moves to plug his phone in, setting it by the nightstand. Ranmaru turns, settling back in with Tokiya again. “What?”

“What was that about?”

“Ren tried to warn us that Reiji was plannin’ something. He was a little late.” Ranmaru’s voice is dry. “But you’re off tomorrow.”

“What? You know that Ren doesn’t actually have the power to decide that, right?”

“He can tell ‘em you’re not comin’ in. That’s enough power.”

“And why am I not going in?”

“‘Cause ‘m not goin’ in either. We’re spending tomorrow in bed so I can watch over you.” Ranmaru’s expression changes. Darkens. “It’s been a long time since you’ve had a panic attack, y’know. ‘S far as I know, your last one was at least a year ago. ...I know you well enough ‘t know that when it gets that bad it’s usually not just one. I’d rather keep you home for a day and make sure you’re actually fine.” Ranmaru tilts his head up, his eyes narrowing. “Speakin’ ‘a which.”

“...No.” Tokiya sighs. “I don’t really feel okay right now.”

“Don’t think I would’a believed you if you said you weren’t. Fuck, Toki, even _I_ was scared.” Ranmaru does hold him tighter. “So we’ll spend tomorrow just watchin’ funny movies or some shit and make sure you’re doin’ okay.”

“But what about you?” Tokiya mumbles, trying to catch Ranmaru’s hand with his good one. It isn’t easy, because Ranmaru’s hand across his chest is pinning his other arm to his side. “You went through everything I did.”

“Things would’a gone a lot differently if you weren’t with me, Toki. Trust me. Just you stayin’ home with me tomorrow is gonna do me a world of good.”

Tokiya’s expression softens. He moves, trying to press his lips to Ranmaru’s, but Ranmaru pushes him back down. “Oi. You’ve got a head injury.”

“It’s not _that_ bad. I’ll be careful.” Tokiya’s tone changes, and he brushes his fingers against Ranmaru’s stomach. 

“I’d normally love ‘t sleep with ya, but you’re hurt, and you’ve been through a lot.”

“Please?”

Tokiya doesn’t trust the look in Ranmaru’s eyes when he pushes himself up, but he almost forgets it, when Ranmaru kisses him. 

There are a few things off about it. Ranmaru is hovering over him, too carefully, making sure that he doesn’t touch Tokiya’s injured hand. His kisses are soft, and he won’t let Tokiya make them anything but. 

“Please.” Tokiya tries to hold Ranmaru closer with his good hand, kissing closer to Ranmaru’s chin. 

Tokiya knows why he’s doing this. Or rather, not doing this. Because Tokiya can feel frustrated tears burning his eyes and it does help him realize just how stretched thin that he feels. He turns his head away from Ranmaru, trying to hide his face, but with Ranmaru’s positioning, there’s no way to hide it. Ranmaru moves the two ice packs, over to the table, and he gently turns Tokiya’s head, his thumb running over Tokiya’s jaw. That’s all it takes for Tokiya to break down again, and Ranmaru moves off of Tokiya, to properly sit him up and pull Tokiya against his chest. 

It takes much longer this time, to calm down, but it does help that Ranmaru can properly comfort him, when they’re alone in their own house. 

Tokia leans against Ranmaru, tired. When he speaks, his voice is a grumble. “I hate April Fools Day.”

“Fuckin’ tell me about it.”


End file.
